LEXINGTON, Ky. – Godolphin, trainer Charlie Appleby, and William Buick broke a shocking two-race Breeders’ Cup losing streak when Modern Games roared home to win the $2 million Breeders’ Cup Mile by three-quarters of a length. The strong favorite, Modern Games helped his connections shake off the deep disappointment of actually losing a couple Breeders’ Cup races, Silver Knott having finished second in the last race Friday, the Juvenile Turf, before Creative Force finished third and Naval Crown 14th on Saturday in the Turf Sprint. Of course, that’s all a joke. But what can one do other than laugh at the Breeders’ Cup record these people have compiled? With Modern Games becoming the first horse to pull the Juvenile Turf/Mile double, Appleby, private trainer for Godolphin, now has a record of 8-2-1 from 16 Breeders’ Cup starters. It took Wayne Lukas, leading Breeders’ Cup trainer by wins, 167 starts to notch 20 victories. Going eight for 16 is . . . unbelievable. So was the turn of foot Modern Games unleashed once Buick produced him at the three-sixteenths pole. Still several lengths behind the leaders at the furlong grounds, Modern Games launched himself to the front with a dazzling final quarter-mile in about 22.20 seconds. All this after a slow start should have put Buick and his mount back on their heels. Instead, Buick thought he was on the winner a long way from home. :: Bet the races with a $200 First Deposit Match and FREE Formulator PPs! Join DRF Bets. “He managed to regain his stride halfway into the first turn. I thought we were following the right horses, so we weren’t too bad. He picked up so well; I always knew he was going to keep running all the way to the wire,” Buick said. “I didn’t need to do any anything too brave or fantastic. It was all about getting him into clear sailing.” Racing over a firm course, Modern Games clocked 1:33.96 for the mile, good enough for a 104 Beyer Speed Figure. Bet heavily from the opening bell, he paid $4.76 to win. In second came 55-1 shot Shirl’s Speight, the second Roger Attfield-trained turf horse Saturday to outperform expectations. Earlier, Lady Speightspeare had finished third at 32-1 in the Filly and Mare Turf. “I had a good trip,” said Shirl’s Speight’s jockey, Luis Saez. “I got a little stuck on the rail, but we found the room and he made his move.” Shirl’s Speight had just a nose on Kinross, who turned in a fabulous performance under an excellent Frankie Dettori ride. Breaking from a very tough post, 12, Dettori managed to find the fence after racing two paths wide around the first turn. Following Modern Games into the final fray, Kinross kicked strongly, too, just missing second. Ivar, third in the 2021 Mile at Del Mar, duplicated his fourth-place finish in the 2020 Mile here at Keeneland, looming at the furlong grounds before being outsprinted to the wire. Behind him came Malavath, who was much better than her 51-1 odds rallying up the rail, and Order of Australia, the 2020 Mile winner, who endured a wide journey and could not find the required late foot. Pogo finished seventh after disputing fractions of 23, 46.81, and 1:10.96. The other two pace players, Beyond Brilliant and Smooth Like Straight, were eighth and ninth behind him, followed by Regal Glory, Annapolis, Dreamloper, and Front Run the Fed, who drew into the field when King Cause was scratched. Domestic Spending, making his first start since August 2021 following a long injury layoff, was racing near the back of the field when something went amiss about the half-mile marker. The gelding quickly was pulled up by Flavien Prat, vanned off the course, and transported to a Lexington veterinary clinic for further evaluation. His trainer Chad Brown later said in a Tweet that Domestic Spending had “suffered a serious pelvis fracture.”  Modern Games delivered a second win this weekend for his connections following Mischief Magic’s score Friday in the Juvenile Turf Sprint. Appleby keeps picking the right horses to send from England to America, and Modern Games, especially, loves it here. The Mile made him three for three in North America, the 3-year-old adding the Woodbine Mile in September to his easy win a year ago in the Juvenile Turf, where he ran for purse money only after mistakenly being scratched at the starting gate. :: BREEDERS’ CUP 2022: See DRF’s special section with top contenders, odds, comments, news, and more for each division “He’s got so many attributes,” said Appleby. “His size - he’s nimble, and I think that’s why he’s always thrived on these tracks. He’s small enough to get through the gaps, neat enough to get round the turns. No matter where he is, you always think he’s going to get there.” Modern Games isn’t just an American horse; earlier this year he won the French 2000 Guineas, was second to elite miler Baaeed in the Sussex Stakes, and a gallant second three weeks ago in the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes, a straight-course mile run over soft turf Modern Games doesn’t like.   “From start to finish he hated that ground; he’s a true warrior,” Appleby said. A homebred by Dubawi out of Modern Ideals, by New Approach, Modern Games will stay in training at age 4. Appleby thinks the colt can be even better in 2023, when he could start his season in a race like the Queen Anne at Royal Ascot. Also in the mix: More American racing. Appleby’s record says we could be doing this all over again a year from now at Santa Anita. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.